Sheffield Wednesday 1

Coventry City 1 Aston Villa 2

Coventry City 1 Whelan 59 Aston Villa 2 Yorke 5, 48 Attendance: 22,792

Aston Villa 4 Grayson 4, Yorke 62, 64, Collymore 72 West Bromwich Albion 0 Attendance: 39,372

Crystal Palace's fortunes may be on the up after the club announced they had agreed a deal to sign the French defender Valerien Ismael for a club record pounds 2.75m and had also persuaded Tomas Brolin to stay with them until the end of the season.

Comedian and Oldham Athletic supporter Smug Roberts turned a soccer chant into a record. Within five hours `Meat pies, sausage rolls, come on Oldham give us a goal' had sold one thousand copies. The songs from the terraces are a phenomenon often reflecting a surprising degree of humour, even irony. Guy Hodgson joins the chorus.

1 Lazy days in Scarborough. Unlike its English namesake, Tobago's capital is warm and friendly.

Aston Villa 2 Steaua Bucharest 0 Aston Villa win 3-2 on aggregate

Aston Villa are not having the best build-up to tonight's Uefa Cup match with Athletic Bilbao, after their manager, Brian Little, criticised Gareth Southgate over his attack on the club's transfer policies.

Aston Villa 2 Yorke 73, Joachim 75 Derby County 1 Baiano 15 Atte ndance: 35,444

Aston Villa 1

Leicester City 1 Marshall 37 Aston Villa 0 Attendance: 20,304

Newcastle United players are "baffled and unhappy" at the club's decision to sell Les Ferdinand to Tottenham, according to the Magpies' England defender Steve Howey.

Stan Collymore defended his record with Liverpool yesterday before setting his sights on terrorising Premiership defences with Aston Villa in the new season.